Hardheaded, Softhearted
by Silent Spirit 17
Summary: Chibiusa is sick and refuses to take her medicine, making Usagi mad. But when she becomes better, she shows Usagi how she really feels about her. One-shot.


"Here you go, Chibiusa," Usagi said sweetly. "Open wide."

Chibiusa made a scrunched face and recoiled in disgust. Like most children, she hated to take medicine.

"Come on, Chibiusa," Usagi insisted. "Don't be stubborn. Here."

Chibiusa stuck out her tongue and recoiled back again. "No! Medicine is icky!" she cried. "Can't I just have some soup?"

"You had a bowl of soup already," Usagi reminded her. "You want another one?"

"Yes!"

"Take your medicine and I'll make you another one."

"No!" Chibiusa shouted. "I hate medicine! I just want soup!"

Usagi was becoming frustrated. Chibiusa had been sick all day. She'd thrown up three times, had a 104 degree fever when she first woke up and was achy since noon. Yet apparently, she wasn't so sick that she couldn't still be a nuisance. Usagi was trying to be nice since Chibiusa wasn't feeling well, but it wasn't easy.

"Oh, well," Usagi told her. "No medicine, no soup."

"Fine!" Chibiusa yelled. "I'll just go to bed!" She laid down and pulled the cover over her head.

Usagi sighed. Obviously, bribing Chibiusa wasn't going to work and her mother told her to make sure Chibiusa took the medicine before she went to sleep. So what works besides bribing?

Chibiusa sat up. For a few seconds, she was still without a word. Usagi poked her to see if she was alright. Chibiusa put her hands on her stomach, then suddenly jumped out of bed and raced out her bedroom. Usagi followed her.

Usagi waited outside the bathroom door as Chibiusa threw up for the fourth time. Shingo heard the noise from his room and came out to ask Usagi what was going on.

"Is Chibiusa throwing up again?" he asked his sister.

"Yeah," Usagi answered.

"That's the fourth time today. Does she still have that fever?"

"It's 100 now, but I couldn't get her to take the medicine," Usagi explained.

"Why don't you just do what Mom and Dad used to do when you wouldn't take medicine?" Shingo suggested.

"What was that?"

"I asked them," Shingo told her. "They just poured the medicine in some juice and let you have it."

That was a pretty good idea to Usagi. She thanked Shingo for the idea and he returned to his room. The noises of Chibiusa's vomiting stopped, so Usagi knocked and asked to come in. Chibiusa told her it was open.

Chibiusa was leaning on the edge of the bathtub. Her stomach didn't hurt, but she felt dizzy. She could barely see Usagi standing just three feet away from her and she was sweating.

"Ready to take the medicine now?" Usagi asked, hoping she would say yes.

But Chibiusa remained stubborn. "No!" she snapped, but it was a rather weak response.

Usagi knew Chibiusa couldn't fuss much, so she picked her up and, ignoring her demands to be put down, carried her to the kitchen and sat her down at the table. She got Chibiusa's favorite glass and found some fruit punch in the fridge. Chibiusa had her head down, so she didn't see Usagi slip some of the medicine into the juice.

"Chibiusa, Chibiusa," Usagi called in the sweetest, most innocent voice she could manage. "Here, drink this. It's juice."

Without thinking, Chibiusa took the glass and drank every drop of it. It tasted a little funny, but Chibiusa thought nothing of it. Almost as soon as she put the glass down, she fell out of her chair and face down on the floor with a thud.

"Chibiusa!" Usagi cried. She quickly picked Chibiusa up and was relieved. She wasn't hurt. The medicine had just put her to sleep. Now, she was quiet and calm. Usagi carried her back up to her bedroom and tucked her in. Chibiusa stirred a little, but nothing more. Usagi tiptoed out the room, switched off the light and closed the door.

Finally, Usagi could go to bed herself. She raced to her room and hopped into right into bed.

"Sheesh, Usagi. You looked like you were practicing to do a pole vault," Luna joked, awoken by Usagi's loud plop on her bed.

"Sorry, Luna. I got Chibiusa to take her medicine," Usagi told her. "She's fast asleep now."

"Poor child," Luna sympathetized. "I hope she feels better tomorrow."

"Poor child?!" Usagi exclaimed. "Luna, she was so stubborn! Even when she's sick, she can be so annoying!"

"Well, no one likes taking medicine," Luna said with a small laugh. "But seriously, she's probably upset that she's so sick. You'd be grouchy too if you were stuck in bed all day. Why don't you check on her later?"

"Maybe," Usagi said. She and Luna drifted off to sleep. The whole house was quiet and the night was serene. Everyone was sleeping peacefully.

Even Chibiusa.

The serene night faded into a rainy morning. Usagi was bummed, but it was raining too hard to go outside. She was stuck inside.

Luna yawned and stretched. She noticed Usagi looking forlornly out the window. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"It's raining, so now, I've got to be trapped inside all day with Chibiusa," Usagi explained without even turning to look at Luna.

"Usagi, don't be so quick to assume," Luna told her. "She might be feeling better."

"Doesn't mean she won't be any less-"

Usagi was interrupted by Chibiusa entering her room. "Umm, Usagi?" she whispered. Her voice was very soft.

"What is it?" Usagi asked her.

"Umm, here. This is for you."

Usagi turned around to see Chibiusa holding up a poster board decorated with drawings of rabbits, moons and cupcakes. In the center, the words "I love you" were placed and had a pink border around them. The letters were colored in stripes.

Chibiusa walked up to the bed and held the poster up for Usagi to take it. "I made it for you," she explained as Usagi stared at the poster. It was childish, of course, but it was beautiful. "Thanks for taking care of me."

Usagi could've cried at that moment. Now, she felt like the biggest jerk in the world for thinking of not wanting to be stuck inside with Chibiusa. She glanced at Chibiusa. She still looked feverish, but only a little.

Out of nowhere, Usagi swooped Chibiusa up and hugged her. Which would've been nice, except Chibiusa was still a little dizzy.

"You know, you're not so bad," Usagi told Chibiusa. She lifted Chibiusa off her shoulder and sat her on her lap. "How come you can't be nice all the time?"

"I don't know," Chibiusa answered. "You try being a kid from the future and feeling like you don't belong."

"Who told you that?"

"Nobody. It just feels weird being in the past. I mean, it's not that different from back home, but it still feels like it."

Well, I think you belong," Usagi said. "Shingo has someone to play with. And Mom and Dad love little kids."

"And you?"

Usagi tried to think of something nice to say. "You...look like me?"

"I have pink hair and red eyes," Chibiusa reminded her.

"Well...you're...cute. And you're artistic." She held up the poster. "You can make these."

"Usagi, I think she's asking you to name a reason you like having her here," Luna pointed out. "You're not helping if you answer hesitantly."

Chibiusa looked at Usagi sadly.

"I can name ten things I like about you," she told Usagi.

"Really?" Usagi asked incredulously. "Okay. Go ahead."

"You're funny, you're a smart girl who just happens to be lazy, you're a good listener, you forgive people, you're brave, you always race to help people, you don't give up easily, you love everyone, you're a dreamer and you're a good soldier who's taught me a lot."

In her mind, Usagi counted. Ten things and Chibiusa barely got a breath in between them. Chibiusa was the last person Usagi would believe could name ten good things about her off the top of their head. She blushed. "You never told me any of those things before."

Chibiusa shrugged. "I didn't think you liked me, so why say it?"

Usagi smiled. "I can think of one thing I like a lot about you, Chibiusa. You're really nice...when you want to be. And you are good at school. Really good. Not like me."

"Didn't I say you're a smart girl who just happens to be lazy?" Chibiusa reminded her. "You could be one of the smartest kids in school if you just did the work. Rei told me that."

"Rei-chan said that? When?"

"Two weeks ago when we went to the fair," Chibiusa said. Her stomach growled.

"Breakfast?" Usagi asked.

"Please?"

Usagi kneeled down on the floor and told Chibiusa to climb on. Chibiusa climbed onto the back and placed her arms tightly around Usagi's neck. The girls laughed as Usagi raced out with Chibiusa on her back.

Luna followed behind. "Ah, those two are so much alike," she said to herself. "Like mother, like daughter."


End file.
